VATICAN CITY (RNS) “He said first it was your turn and now it is our turn. In other words, first Jews suffered savage attacks that were met with the world’s silence and now it is Christians who are being annihilated and the world is silent.”

(RNS) The 310-303 vote marks a victory for divestment supporters both within and without the 1.8 million-member PCUSA, now the largest American church to embrace divestment as a strategy to pressure Israel to return its illegally held lands.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) “Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare,” Pope Francis told the Israeli and Palestinian presidents. “It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict, yes to dialogue and no to violence.”

(RNS) In a world of heart-wrenching suffering, leaders from President Obama to Russia’s Vladimir Putin often seem like helpless actors controlled by events rather than directing them. Pope Francis also risks that fate.

(RNS) With the civil war in Syria and the civil conflict in Egypt, instances of violent repression against minority Christians have increased. This rise was particularly worrying for Orthodox bishops, who lead the largest body of Christians in the Middle East.